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The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies
The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies is a short mockumentary which was an extra feature for the season 4 DVD and Blu-ray. It is intentionally edited in the style of amateur and independent conspiracy documentaries such as Loose Change. It is unknown whether the contents of the documentary are to be considered part of official canon or what guidance the producers of this DVD feature may have had from the writers or creators of Lost. Findings The documentary begins by presupposing that the viewer knows the story of the Oceanic Six and is assumed to be based several years after they were rescued. Throughout the documentary, familiar scenes are shown (the press conference, and Kate's trial for example) but from different angles, filmed with lower-quality cameras than those used in the production of the show. The documentary begins by questioning elements of the original story as told by Oceanic and the Oceanic Six, including how they were able to survive for 108 days and how ocean currents were able to carry them to Membata. It continues by briefly running through the original story as seen by the public and comments on the huge fame and wealth the Oceanic Six have received since being rescued and goes on to say that the original story is "so improbable it has to be true". Bill Waldock, professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, offers his personal views on the subject. He talks about the improbability of the plane being able to survive impact as the water would be incompressible if a plane-- traveling at that angle, height and velocity-- were to hit the water, describing it as "solid as concrete". Waldock claims that the plane should have smashed into "thousands and millions of pieces". Next, Waldock talks through the ROV footage that was broadcast to the world and comments on how it would be impossible for the plane to have crashed in such a manner, explaining that debris was contained geographically at the crash site and realistically it would have been scattered for miles. An unnamed Oceanic hotline worker talks about a call she received (presumably from Frank in ) when working at Oceanic, her identity and voice is disguised. She comments on how the caller claimed that it was not the pilot's body that was shown on the news. On the subject of corpses, Bill Waldock explains that the bodies shown on the news broadcast do not look like the typical bodies that would be found that deep under water, and for that length of time. Assuming the story is true, it is then questioned how Oceanic Flight 815 could end up 1,000 miles off course and the convenience of the wreckage's location (the bottom of the 4.8 mile deep, highly inaccessible Sunda Trench) is pointed out. As part of the story, the survivors say they floated from the crash site to Membata. However, the currents for that time of year make it impossible for anything to have floated east (to Membata). The documentary then moves on to the other three passengers, Boone, Libby and Charlie and it is told of how "thousands" of Charlie Pace's fans signed a petition to request that Oceanic help locate Membata so that a memorial could be built, to which Oceanic denied. Health experts then evaluate the physical condition of the Oceanic Six after they were rescued. The "official" story claims that the survivors survived on coconuts and fish. Coconuts which are high in fat and fish which is hard to catch. According to the health specialist Janet Mayer, carbohydrates were missing from their diet which would cause burning of their bodies' fat stores, which would lead to weight loss, protein usage and eventually wasting-- estimating that about 25% of the bodies weight should've been lost. However, comparing airport security video to the video taken just after they were rescued shows this not to be the case. Furthermore it appears that the survivors have shaven, undertaken haircuts and even been able to change their clothes. Because of this, it is assumed that the Oceanic Six had access to another food source (which is briefly suggested as the three other survivors being cannibalistically "consumed"). On the topic of Kate's pregnancy, questions are raised about the age of Aaron and the impossibility of Kate being 6 months pregnant before the crash, as told by airport employee Sheanna Mitchell during a radio interview two days after the rescue. She claims that Kate was not pregnant when she saw her the night before the departure of Flight 815, calling it "impossible". Danny Barnes claims that she spoke to a passenger named Claire on the day of the flight, who claimed to be flying to Los Angeles on Flight 815 and was obviously heavily pregnant. A gynecologist, Dr. Gail N. Jackson, is also interviewed and concurs on the matter, showing two women who are as pregnant as Kate claimed to be on the day of the flight. She also suggests that Aaron does not appear to be five weeks old. Finally, an unnamed and anonymous Oceanic Airlines representative claims that it would be ridiculous for Oceanic to have staged the crash as it would always turn out bad for Oceanic. The documentary then concludes by telling the "actual" story, based on the facts they have unearthed: # Oceanic flight 815 takes off from Sydney to Los Angeles # Six hours into the flight radio problems occur and all contact with flight 815 is lost # Five passengers and a possible sixth passenger (pregnant with Aaron) got off the plane a few hours later # Since the plane did not crash, it was diverted, landed and passengers were evacuated (the fate of the aircraft and passengers is said to be still unknown) # For 108 days, the Oceanic Six had access to shelter, food, grooming supplies and clothes, during which time Aaron was born # 2 months later, staged wreckage was discovered by the Christiane I # In January 2005 the Oceanic Six paddled ashore on the beaches of Sumba island The documentary comes to an end by posing the question of who was behind the staging of the wreckage. It says that the operation must have had: huge financial backing and cooperation at the highest levels--either United States federal government, the UN or another "unknown organization with unparalleled reach". The documentary then goes on to mention the recent tragedies of the Oceanic Six (including the death of Nadia) and states that previously the six have been motivated by money and reward, but without that in the equation now, they must be driven by fear, finally questioning "fear of what... or whom?" Chronological setting If "The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies" is canon, certain conclusions can be drawn about the date that the documentary was made within the Lost universe. The video refers to the acquisition of Paik Heavy Industries by Sun-Hwa Kwon (May 2005), the death of Nadia (Oct. 2005), the return of Hugo Reyes to the mental institution (Jan. 2006), and the aquittal of Kate Austen in her criminal trial (between Nov. 2006 and Nov. 2007), and therefore it must have been made after all of these events. Moreover, it also refers to Jack Shephard being addicted to alcohol and drugs, and shows a photo of him with a beard. This seems to imply that the video was made after Kate and Jack break up in , since there is no suggestion in the show that his problems began before that point. However, when Sarah Shephard visits Jack in the hospital in December 2007, she asks him, "Are you drinking again?", which may suggest he has had multiple bouts with addiction, so this point is uncertain. Because the video makes no reference to the Oceanic Six having disappeared, the video was presumably made before their departure on Ajira Airways Flight 316 in December 2007. Valais Air Flight 101 The documentary refers to Valais Air Flight 101, an airplane supposedly ditched in the North Atlantic while attempting to land at Keflavik, Iceland. The crash described is very like the real life Swiss Air Flight 111, which crashed in the North Atlantic while attempting to land at Halifax. http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/1998/a98h0003/a98h0003.pdf Similarities * Almost identical flight numbers (101 vs. 111) * Valais is a canton in Switzerland. * "Halifax" and "Keflavik" are fairly similar placenames, both ports in the North Atlantic Ocean. * Both aircraft hit the sea while attempting to land at airports. * Both airliners disintegrated into millions of pieces. * The simulation in Oceanic 6 shows the airliner impacting the water in a steep nose-down attitude. The structural damage of Swissair 111 indicates that the aircraft had a nose-down attitude of about 20 degrees, and a right bank in excess of 60 degrees. * The Oceanic 6 transcript sentence, "All but one of the bodies was so disfigured, that they had to be identified through dental records, fingerprints and DNA," applies verbatim to the Swissair recovery process. Relevance The accident description given in the Oceanic 6 video is sufficiently similar to the Swissair crash as to make it sound familiar to the average viewer, lending verisimilitude to the video. The circumstances of the flight, however, are completely irrelevant to the scenario it's trying to disprove. The survivability of an out-of-control aircraft smashing nosefirst into the ocean compares to that of a controlled touchdown on a water surface about as well as the same two attitudes of arrival on a land surface. The misapplication of evidence regarding the survivability of ditchings is so common in media and other sources as to help the documentary ring true. Trivia *Danny Barnes's account of Claire speaking to "a pilot" at the airport in Sydney references a deleted scene from in which Seth Norris, the pilot of Flight 815, meets Claire in the waiting area and assuages her fears about the flight. *The companies used in the documentary are real, presumably to both add realism to the video and to gain some accurate information on the subject. In addition, the article from The Economist was an actual article. Bloopers and continuity errors *The flight being 1,000 miles off course is impossible and would appear to be an unattributed reference to a statement by Seth Norris moments before his death. For the aircraft to be in the Sunda Trench, it would have had to be much further off course. The plane should have been somewhere northeast of Sydney enroute to Los Angeles. Australia is 2,000 miles wide. In "There's No Place Like Home", Hurley states that they're traveling three thousand miles to Sumba in order to help their story. List of new characters introduced *Bill Waldock *Unnamed female former Oceanic Hotline employee *Janet Sprintal (voice only) *Dr. Janet Mayer *Sheanna Mitchell (voice only) *Dr. Gail N. Jackson *Two unnamed pregnant Asian women *Danny Barnes *High-ranking, unnamed male employee of Oceanic Airlines List of new companies introduced *Robertson Aviation Safety Center *Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University *Scripps Institution Of Oceanography Unanswered questions *Who is the Oceanic host-line worker who was disguised in the video? *Who is the high ranking employee of Oceanic Airlines? External links *Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University website *Scripps Institution Of Oceanography website de:Der Schwur der Oceanic Sechs: Ein Netz aus Lügen fr:Les Six du vol Oceanic : une conspiration Oceanic Six